Renewable energy sources could allow for a prudent decrease in CO₂ emissions while still powering a populous, electrified global economy. On The Pump Handle, Mark Pendergrast examines the proverbial canary in the coal mine, Japan. Wary of imported fossil fuels and burned by nuclear disaster, Japan is looking toward solar, geothermal, wind, water, and biomass-powered alternative energy sources. Wind, for example, could provide 10% of Japan's energy needs, but with blade-busting typhoons and fierce winter lightning storms, turbines must be more robust and adaptable than ever. 

It may be surprising to many people that the United States gets the majority of its crude oil and petroleum from countries other than those in the Middle East. New data released in June 2011 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that only about 18 percent of crude and petroleum came from the Middle Eastern countries of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in 2010. The majority of the crude and petroleum imported to the U.S. came from the Western Hemisphere, with approximately 49 percent coming from North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean, including U.S. territories.

The U.S. consumed 19.1 million barrels per day (MMbd) in 2010 of petroleum products, and dependence on foreign oil has declined since 2005, and several factors come into play as to why. The economic situation has played a role, but there are also factors like increased efficiency and changes in consumer patterns. Domestic biofuels production has helped the U.S. to decrease foreign oil reliance as well, but there have also been changes such as domestic production of crude increasing along with increased natural gas use.

The Obama Administration approved the Keystone XL pipeline that is slated to carry tar sands from Alberta to Texas to be refined into various forms of fuel. There were also over 1000 protestors arrested during the days the protests took place. Among them was President Obama’s chief climatologist, James Henson. The protestors were protesting that the pipeline will put our clean energy future on hold even longer, and instead of sending a message that we must harness energy from the wind and sun, it is ok to continue to get it from deep under the earth’s surface and pollute the air, water, and land that are so critical to humanity.